Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan. It is my first time to meet him in the House since his elevation and I congratulate him. It could not happen to a better guy. I have always been a fan of his. He is a pretty decent guy.The speech that Senator Dooley just made gives me great heart for Shannon. He put much good stuff in there. My first visit to Shannon was in 1963, when I went there with a sister of mine who won a flight around Ireland. I thought it was the most awesome place in the world. My next visit was in 1968 because my father would not let me take the boat when I emigrated to London.

I fully support my Sinn Féin colleague, Senator Gavan, who has made an excellent case for the workers represented by SIPTU and the wider community in counties Clare, Limerick and Galway, and the country at large. If the citizens of these counties are looking for reassurance in the Government's amendment, I regret to say that there is none to be found. It is an insult to the families affected to state the Government recognises "the difficult decisions Shannon Group has had to take in recent months to reduce its costs and the impacts of these measures on the employees of the company which are deemed necessary to enable Shannon Group to secure the future of the airport so that it is well placed when the sector recovers from this crisis".

Senator Dooley has gone out of his way to find alternative employment for staff at Shannon Airport and I am grateful to him for that. I can see he genuinely wants to work with Senator Gavan to protect jobs. The amendment, however, is almost a textbook example of a logical fallacy, as it intimates that the sector will recover from the crisis without the contribution and commitment of a loyal workforce and without specific proactive measures from the Government. That case was made very clearly by Senator Dooley in his contribution. The Government's commitment is so vague and lacking in substance that is not, in fact, a commitment. It will be no consolation to the employees of the Shannon Group to hear that the Government commits to "undertake an examination of the future viability and sustainability of Shannon Group, and is considering financial supports and any other measures that may be necessary and appropriate as part of a wider review of Shannon Group".

We often refer to time being of the essence in this House. We are in the middle of a global pandemic and we cannot afford the luxury of "considering" and "examining". SIPTU representatives have already been before the Special Committee on Covid-19 Response where they made a sensible and strong case for specific consideration to be given to aviation workers in the Shannon Group. Some of my colleagues referred to aviation workers all over the country. In that regard, I compliment Cork Airport on its work done promoting the airport. It is easy to promote Dublin Airport, but Cork Airport has done a marvellous job. I am sure my colleague, Senator Buttimer, will make that case in the not too distant future.

I fully endorse the recommendation by SIPTU that the temporary wage subsidy scheme for the aviation sector be extended until the summer of 2021 and be conditional on binding commitments from the employers. We need reassurance today that no worker will be compulsorily laid off while the employer is benefiting from the TWSS and that any recovery of the aviation sector will be predicated on strong links between the Shannon Group and its employees. I also fully support the right of workers to make contributions to their pension scheme from the TWSS. Any changes to the terms and conditions of employment should be agreed via a collective bargaining process.

I note with interest that councillors on Clare County Council, including those from the Government parties, have called for the independence of Shannon Airport to be reversed. When the airport was removed from the DAA umbrella, promises were made that 2.5 million passengers would use the airport each year. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic caused the current crisis in aviation, those figures had not been realised, despite the outstanding work of the Shannon Group. Now is the ideal time to restructure the airport sector, so that when the pandemic has abated the sector will be robust and fit for purpose. As the saying goes, a good crisis should never be wasted. I support the county councillors in Clare and my Sinn Féin colleagues in proposing that Shannon Airport be brought back under the auspices of the DAA.

Senator Dooley made specific mention of Aer Rianta International and the DAA perhaps not being the right vehicles. Senators Dooley and Gavan are living in the area and they know more than I do. Perhaps they are correct that we need to have Aer Rianta back or a similar body in place to ensure we do not have the dominance of Dublin Airport in respect of the other two regional airports. Deputy Quinlivan has already raised this matter in the Dáil. The Minister has met the unions and the belief is that a change would take two or three years and would not solve the underlying strategic issues. Senator Dooley also made that point, as did Senator Gavan.

We must make strategic decisions about Shannon Airport. I am not sure that reconnecting to the DAA would immediately assist in allowing us to do that. I am sure we need a governing body for the airports. I ask the Minister of State to explain why Shannon Airport is not being brought back under a national umbrella. In the 1980s, when I lived in Limerick - I lived there until the mid-1990s - Shannon Airport had a proud workforce. For as long as I can remember, however, the airport has struggled. To bring it back on stream, we will need investment and a centralised authority that will manage all our airports. We also need to guarantee the jobs at the airport. Senator Dooley made the point that the workers expected their terms and conditions to transfer automatically. Senator Gavan has been working on that issue as part of his involvement with SIPTU, but it did not happen.

Shannon Airport has been pushed further and further out, which is something we have to change. My colleagues spoke about Knock airport and its strategic importance to the north-west region. Shannon Airport is vital to the mid-west and Limerick city. One of the great things about moving to Limerick, Shannon and Clare is that the people there are quite cosmopolitan and welcome strangers to their area. The establishment of Shannon Development resulted in foreigners from around the world coming to Shannon Airport, including from South Africa when the De Beers diamonds company set up in the area. That made Shannon a very welcoming place. County Clare, particularly Ennis, benefited from that, as did Limerick. The knock-on effects of Shannon Airport for the region are substantial. We do not need an amendment to Senator Gavan's motion. What we need is for the motion to be accepted. I wish my colleagues the best as they move forward. I hope we can work together on this issue.